Preview: Thresholds of the Grand Dream (2/2)
Part two of a free preview!
WEDNESDAY - DREAMING
1
Sonia walked barefoot through a sparse wood, where the branches swayed in the wind. A mountainous cloud floated over the horizon, in front of a tremendous white moon. Someone squealed behind her. Small children were chasing each other from tree to tree. A grandfather clock stood in a clearing, its door large enough for Sonia to fit through, but with no pendulum swinging inside.
How long had she been walking? How did she get here?
Sonia continued on to the edge of the woods and crossed a cobblestone plaza, lit as bright as day by tall lamps. Everywhere she looked, she saw children, her age and younger and older. Not a single adult.
A crowd gathered by a low concrete wall, gazing out at a glittering black sky. An older kid, maybe an eighth grader, climbed on top of the wall, arms outstretched.
He jumped.
Sonia dashed to the wall and clapped both hands over her mouth. The boy was falling toward a vast sea of clouds, with city lights glowing even farther below. How was it possible to be up so high? He was as good as dead!
But then, a heavy wind blew against him, and he swooped up and twirled in the sky. He was smiling, and the kids watching him cheered. Other children were flying as well, gliding between the clouds and shooting through them. One little girl in a white nightgown flew up and tumbled back over the wall, laughing hysterically as she rolled to a stop.
Sonia leaned over. There was a bluff below the wall, but she couldn't see where it ended. Something had to be keeping them up here. She bent down, standing on her tiptoes…
When something wrapped around her ankles and pulled.
She flipped forward, dropped from the wall, and screamed. There was nothing between her and the ground except the clouds. She didn't know how to fly like the others, and no one could catch her in time. All she could do was admire the city lights and wait for her eleven years of life to come to an end.
The wind blasted against her. It slowed her down and seemed to slice around her and draw her forward. Soon it began to lift her up.
She was flying!
All she had to do was adjust her position, and she could move wherever she wanted. Pulling her head up let her shoot higher. Rotating her shoulders let her turn.
Sonia twisted around and gasped.
Nothing was holding the bluffs up at all. She had fallen from an island that floated in the air as naturally as one of the clouds.
A clock tower stood atop a stone castle in the island's center. Pale moonlight shone off the clock's face.
She had seen that clock tower before…
Behind the wall, someone was laughing at her, someone with a head of copper. Isaac? No, of course not. What would he be doing in a place like this?
She steered herself toward the wall. As soon as she crested it, she began to drop. The crowd cleared. The impact jolted through her legs as her feet hit the ground. Sweet, beautiful, durable solid ground! It might be a floating island, but at least she could stand on it.
Sonia gazed toward the woods she had left only minutes ago. Behind those woods, the clock tower, with its moonlit face, stood like a watchful eye over everything.
A path led her out of the plaza and then forked: one way going uphill, the other down. She went up.
A wide lounge deck, furnished with easy chairs, sofas, and board games, reached off the edge of the island. One kid was plucking an intricate tune from a guitar. Two others were locked in a chess game. Still more were under a loudspeaker, dancing to a pop song. Sonia didn't recognize it; it sounded like two different songs mashed together.
Rebecca and Erin were chatting with each other in the corner. Erin's nightgown and the sleeves of Rebecca's pajamas fluttered in the wind. Sonia hollered. "Hey! Over here!"
Erin turned, gasped, and waved back. She and Rebecca both started running toward Sonia, and she ran toward them. For them to be in a place like this, it was like…
"I'm dreaming," Sonia said.
Erin grabbed her and nearly toppled her over. "We were about to start looking for you!"
Rebecca joined in, and Sonia wrapped her arms as far around them as she could. They were here! She could touch them! And all these kids, hanging around without a single adult—and that clock tower—"This is the Grand Dream, isn't it?"
"What do you think?" Rebecca said. "Ring any bells so far?"
"No, but it's amazing. Everything feels so real." Sonia broke off and gazed out at the sky beyond the lounge deck's guardrail. Mountains of cloud drifted over the horizon, with constellations shimmering above and distant towns twinkling below. "How could I forget this?"
"Who knows?" Rebecca said. "There's a lot of stuff we don't know about the Grand Dream, and a lot of weird glitches that pop up sometimes. Like that." She pointed at a cloud that was floating by. Water was spewing from the top like a fountain.
"That is pretty weird," Sonia said, trying to imagine what Lisa would make of a place like this. "So if it is a glitch, is there a way to fix it?"
"Let's hope so. But at least we're together now. Why don't we show you around? There's gotta be something that'll jog your memory."
"Though we did kinda give you the tour already," Erin said.
"Don't let that stop you." Sonia said. "Where to first?"
"This way." Erin pointed uphill.
Sonia glanced at the clock tower. It was eleven fifteen.
2
On the way up the hill, Rebecca asked, "Did you try telling your dad about this?"
"I did!" Sonia said. "But all I got were brain farts."
"Same thing happens whenever I try telling my sister," Erin said.
Rebecca chuckled. "Every time I try to say 'Grand Dream' to Mom and Dad, it always comes out as 'moon beam' or something. It happens to everybody."
"I gotta admit," Erin said, "it's kinda fun having this big secret all to ourselves. Joseph thought of everything."
"Who's Joseph?" A bell rang. A grandfather clock, identical to the one Sonia had seen in the woods, stood beside the path. The door swung open, and a small boy stepped out. He looked around and dashed off. Sonia pointed. "What was that?"
"That's how we get in when we start dreaming," Erin said. "They're all over the place. You use a different one every night."
The door shut itself.
"Is there a way out?" Sonia said.
"Nobody's ever found one," Rebecca said. "You can't even open the clocks back up. Even if you could, who knows where they go?"
Sonia stared back at it. There had to be something out there, right?
At the top of the slope, they arrived at the museum, a white marble building on a bluff. Rebecca and Erin held the doors open, and Sonia went in. Nearly every surface in the lobby was smeared over with handprints and graffiti, and kids were painting even more on top of it.
The girls treaded across, dodging the occasional splatter as best they could—though Sonia still wound up with dots of green and orange on her shirt. Rebecca and Erin took her into a hallway in the back. Paintings and drawings and photographs hung on display. They were some of the best Sonia had ever seen. The colors danced together, the brushstrokes sang, the frames opened up like windows.
"These were all done by kids in the Dream." Erin pointed at a photo of a tiny house in front of a rippling lake. "I did that one. It's my granddaddy's cabin."
"Very nice." Sonia peeked through the doors into the various studios. There seemed to be something for everybody in here. Kids were sketching a basket of apples in one room, molding pottery in another, striking poses for a camera in yet another. And what about clay? "I don't have anything in here, do I?"
"You know," Rebecca said, "I don't think you do."
"Of course she does," Erin said. "You know that. It's why we came here."
"You sure?"
"It's right upstairs, I'll show you."
Rebecca scratched her head, and Erin marched forward.
"Another glitch?" Sonia asked.
"Maybe," Rebecca said. "I don't know."
"I hope my memory thing isn't catching."
They took a staircase at the end of the hall to the second floor, where Erin showed Sonia to the sculpture gallery. Among all the clay figures, pots, and various strange shapes that stood on their pedestals throughout the room, one in particular caught Sonia's attention. She rushed in for a closer look. It was the last face she'd expected to see.
It was her mother, Miranda, sculpted from the neck up, painted in peach and gold, with light brown hair in waves down to her shoulders. Her green eyes looked to the side, as if she were distracted by something. She wore only a hint of a smile. "I did this?" Sonia said.
"I remember now," Rebecca said. "You spent like a whole week in the studio downstairs, like you were possessed or something."
Sonia ran her finger over a ridge of hair. This was the best thing she had ever sculpted. She could never have done anything like it in real life. It looked so much like her mother's photo…
She turned away from it.
"You okay?" Rebecca said. "You remember anything?"
"I'm fine." Sonia stepped toward the door. "I just…you guys ready to go?"
"Sure, let's go."
While her friends went ahead, Sonia took one last look back at her mother's eyes. Had they really been that sad?
They left the museum. The clock tower said eleven forty.
Next was the arena, but they didn't go in. They just stood outside and watched people climb the steps to the enormous gates. "People use it for whatever they want," Erin said. "Sports, plays, concerts, even movies." She chuckled. "Well, the movies can get kinda janky. Like, one time we saw Lord Voldemort in Return of the Jedi. It was hilarious."
From there, they hiked up a small, narrow stairway to a surprisingly ordinary playground, complete with swing set and jungle gym. Erin's little brother was climbing up the slide. She waved at him. "Hi, Spencer," she called. "Just passing through."
An unwelcome voice popped up behind them. "So this weekend, I wanna watch that movie you were talking about." It was Isaac, strolling up with his friends, Bart and Justin.
"You're really gonna like it," Bart said. "It's the funniest thing I've ever seen."
"Can't we get away from you for one night?" Erin said.
"Oh, hey," Isaac said. "Just felt like using the swing set for a little bit."
"That better be all you're doing, Isaac," Rebecca said.
"Give me some credit." Isaac pointed at Sonia and chuckled. "Heh, you should've heard yourself scream earlier."
Sonia remembered that laughing copper head at the bluff. "That was you! You sick freak, I thought I was gonna die!"
Rebecca put a hand over her eyes. "Oh, for God's sake, Isaac, what did you do?"
"I was just fooling around," Isaac said. "C'mon, it was funny!"
Sonia sucked in air through clenched teeth. Don't pop him in the face, don't pop him in the face. Not in front of her friends. Especially not his twin sister.
Rebecca took Sonia by the shoulders. "Let's just go." She steered Sonia around the boys, down the stairs. "Later, Isaac."
"And stay away from Spencer," Erin said.
"Oh, hey, I didn't see him there. Hey, Spence!"
Erin growled and called to Sonia and Rebecca, "You go ahead. I gotta make sure he behaves himself."
Sonia and Rebecca headed downhill. "Are you sure you two are twins?" Sonia said. "He acts like he's eight."
"Eight? Try five. What'd he even do?"
"He threw me off the island."
Rebecca sighed and shook her head. "Sometimes I can't believe he's even potty trained."
Sonia snickered. She relaxed now that they'd gotten away from Isaac. Rebecca had totally made the right call. Sonia wouldn't have been able to stop at one punch. Another second, and Sonia might not have had friends anymore.
Or would she? They must have known. You can't hang out with someone a whole summer and not notice an anger problem. "Hey, Rebecca," Sonia said, "did I ever tell you what I was like…"
"At your old school? A couple of times." Rebecca gave her a quick pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, that's all in the past. Erin and me, we've got your back now."
"Th-thank you." For them to stick with her, even knowing what she was like…they really were her friends, weren't they?
Rebecca directed Sonia to a wrought iron gate that hung open like outstretched arms. A cool breeze blew out and touched Sonia's cheeks. Inside, the sun shone like a jewel in a blue sky over a lush garden. Red and blue and violet dotted the hedges.
Before Sonia could go in and sniff the buttercups, a deep chime rang from the clock tower. The clock in the garden rang as well, and then every clock in the Grand Dream joined together to form one loud, clanging gong.
It was midnight.
"It's Joseph," Rebecca cried. "He's coming out."
"Who?" Sonia said.
Everyone around gazed at the clock tower.
In front of the clock face, a tall teenage boy, wearing a robe that flowed like the clouds, hung suspended in the air. A faint shine surrounded him. "Who is that?" Sonia said.
"It's Joseph," Rebecca said. "He created the Grand Dream."
"No way—him?"
The clock tower rang one more time. The impression of a smile emerged on Joseph's face as he gazed down upon the children of the Baker schools. "Hello, boys and girls." His voice was soft as mist yet clear as the bells that announced him. "Here we are: a new school year. I hope you all have a lot of fun."
If someone like him created the Grand Dream…
"I especially want to welcome all newcomers. Think of this Dream as a sanctuary, where you are free to play as much as you want, without a single adult around to bother you."
…then maybe he knew why she'd forgotten.
"Hey!" Sonia ran toward the castle wall. "Hey!"
"I'll be here, watching over you," Joseph said. "Until next time."
"I need your help! Hey!" She turned to Rebecca. "Can he even hear me?"
The bell rang once again.
Joseph dissolved back into the clock face.
"Come back!" Sonia tilted her head back and stared up the side of the tower. "Please."
Rebecca touched her shoulder. Erin ran down from the playground to join them.
"Was that it?" Sonia said. "Who was that?"
"Like I said." Rebecca's fingers drummed on Sonia's back. "It's Joseph."
"And he started this whole thing? What is he, some kinda wizard?"
"He could be," Erin said. "Or maybe an alien or an angel. It's anybody's guess."
"But if anybody can help me, it's him, right? Can't we go up there and ask him?"
"We can't," Rebecca said. "Nobody's ever gotten into the clock tower. There's no door, no elevator, no nothing."
"Couldn't we fly?"
"Only if you fall off the island, and that just takes you high enough to get back on. I'm sorry. We'll just have to wait until the next time he comes out." Rebecca sighed. "And that's whenever he feels like it—usually once a month."
Sonia groaned and rubbed her face.
"I know it's a lot," Rebecca said.
"Forget it. We're not gonna figure it out tonight. Is there anything else worth seeing?"
"There's always the pool," Erin said.
3
There was a shortcut through the castle, behind a modest wooden door across from the garden. Blue light lit the hallway inside. A heavy drumbeat thudded at the far end, where there was a dance floor lit with LEDs that shifted from one color to the next. Teens and little kids alike jumped and wiggled in a frenzy. Sonia nodded along to the beat as she followed the others across the hallway.
They passed through another door. The music stopped when they closed it behind them.
A long corridor stretched ahead, with doors lined up on each side like hotel rooms. A few were open, and when Sonia looked in, she only saw benches on blank walls. "What're these for?"
"We call them Lucid Rooms," Erin said. "You go in, and it puts you into a regular dream, just like you'd have if, you know, you weren't in this one. It's how I took that picture in the museum."
"Any dream you want?"
"No, just whatever dream you'd normally have," Rebecca said. "Now that I think about it, you never came down here very much. I think you said something about a recurring nightmare?"
Sonia bristled. "How much did I tell you about it?"
"We didn't ask," Erin said, in a tone that said she didn't want to know more. "It's okay. The rooms aren't for everybody."
They found an exit that opened onto the path by the lounge deck. The door tweeted when it swung shut behind them. Probably another glitch. She followed the others down to the fork in the path. From there, they could see the wall where Sonia had fallen off. Erin asked if she wanted to give it a try. "No, thank you," Sonia said. "I tried it already."
She followed the others down the lower path, toward the underside of the island. The pool waited on the other side of an arch underneath the lounge deck. "Wait," Sonia said. "I just realized, I don't have a swimsuit."
"Don't worry," Rebecca said. "Just keep walking."
"Why? We're not skinny-dipping, are we?"
Rebecca laughed. "That's what you said the first time you came here."
They passed under the arch, through a deep shadow, and stepped out into a bright and hot summer's day. They were all wearing swimsuits. Sonia was even wearing the green-and-black one she'd picked out after she'd moved to Chattanooga. "Whoa." She looked out at the pool. "Who-hoa!"
It wrapped around half the island, not just one pool but many pools linked together. Kids splashed at each other, fired Super Soakers, and flew out of the slide that coiled around the bluff.
Joseph really did think of everything!
"I knew you'd like it," Erin said.
"Last one to do a cannonball's a rotten egg!" Sonia ran to the nearest diving board.
They played there the rest of the night.
* * *
At around six o'clock, Sonia finally saw someone she recognized.
She had just taken another plummet down the water slide. She splashed Rebecca and some third grader and then swam over to the ladder so she could go down the slide again.
She saw him sitting to her left, on the edge of the pool. He was a black boy about Sonia's age, maybe a little older. His shoulders shifted up and down with each puff of air he took. She had seen his face and his long curly hair somewhere before. But where? His name wasn't even close to the tip of her tongue.
She could go over and ask him. Maybe he'd recognize her. Maybe he could help her find out how she'd forgotten the Grand Dream.
Before she took one step, he got up and ran toward the arch to join his friends. Sonia watched them all cross into the shadow. The sky beyond the arch was turning pink.
Rebecca swam up beside her. "Hey, what's up?"
"Oh, uh, nothing," Sonia said. Rebecca didn't need to get the wrong idea. "I was…just wondering how we know when it's time to—"
A high-pitched buzz jabbed into her ear, jolted her, shook her.
The world faded to a black haze and dropped out beneath her.
She woke up.
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